Your Eyes
by HarryWhoFanatic
Summary: The Doctor finds a way to finish his sentence. Songfic, postdoomsday An: Now with Rose's pov.
1. Chapter 1

AN//: This is my attempt at moving on from Doomsday. I can accept (well not really…but if I _have _to…) Rose leaving and all. What I can't get over is that the Doctor wasn't allowed to finish his sentence. Minute I heard this song I knew it was perfect for fixing that.

P.S. _Italics_ signify singing. For the sake of the story, please just pretend it was a sacred tradition on Gallifrey to express grief in a song…hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own "Your Eyes". It's a song written by Jonathan Larson for his play Rent, which is a masterpiece, everyone should at least see the film…I also don't own Doctor Who. Maybe some day, though that is soooo wishful thinking….

BR //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// BR

The Doctor stood in front of the TARDIS doors, hands in his pockets, staring ahead, unseeing. It had been the work of countless sleepless night to get himself this far. Hours of careful plotting, staring up at the control room ceiling, attempting to ignore the memories the darkness hurled at him. In particular, memories of her, Rose Tyler…

He had failed, when saying goodbye to her, to tell her how he truly felt. He'd tried before, but always his own fear had choked him into silence. Then, when he'd finally garnered the courage to tell her…his time ran out and he faded away with those words still unuttered. And now here he was, one year later to the day he'd lost her, and still those words remained unspoken.

The TARDIS bleeped encouragingly, lights flickering gently, reminding him of where he was and what he was about to do. He closed his eyes tight, hand blindly reaching out to gasp the door handle. He shouldn't be doing this. He _couldn't _do this. His mind screamed this fact at him. It wouldn't bring her back. Nothing could bring her back. He should just turn around, put in a new set of coordinates, and leave. He should- The Doctor shook his head, running a long fingered hand through his unruly hair, banishing the tempting thought. It hardly mattered; he owed it to Rose to do this. He'd let her down so many times before. He wouldn't add this moment to that long list.

Before he could change his mind, he steeled himself, and shoved the doors of the TARDIS open and stepped outside. The doors shut smartly behind him as he took a moment to gaze about his bleak surroundings. The Ghostwatch room was dark; the pale light of the waning moon barely penetrating through the splintered cracks that crisscrossed the windows like glassy veins, and completely deserted. The remaining office equipment lay twisted, bent, and scattered about the room, skeletons broken and left to decay, clothed in a fine layer of dust. Outside, the streets of London pulsed with life, ignorant of the single empty monument to the sacrifice the Earth's Savior and Defender had paid exactly one year ago.

The Doctor's gaze was automatically drawn to the wall on the opposite end of the room. The sight was a hard blow to the stomach, and before the Doctor even realized it, his feet had carried him rapidly across the room, footsteps echoing hollowly on the tiled floor, until he stood before it, face to face. He stared at the wall for a long time; a few inches and forever away from her, then, slowly, he reached out a shaking hand and lightly, then more firmly, pressed it against the smooth blank expanse.

The instant his skin made contact, he crumpled against it, chest heaving for breath, as the full weight of all his grief, rage, and loneliness came to bear down on him. His shoulders shook with the tremendous force, as he pressed his forehead against the cold unforgiving surface. But no tears fell, though they stung his chocolate-coated amber eyes. Bracing himself against the wall, he closed his stinging eyes, lips hovering a mere inch away from the wall.

The Doctor leaned against the wall for an immeasurable amount of time, shoulders trembling with the force of his grief. It was only with the loud ringing of Big Ben's chimes that he recalled his purpose. Choking back his pain, just long enough to roughly pull himself together, the Doctor straightened into an upright position. Taking a deep breath he leaned in closer to the wall, sensing where the hairline crack was at it's largest, until his lips were a mere few centimeters away from the unmarred surface.

"This is a message for Rose Tyler," he whispered, speaking into the crack in the void, impossibly hoping he could be heard on the other side. "_I__ should tell you, I should tell you…" his_ voice cracked with raw emotion, as an image of Rose staring up at him; sobbing her farewell, filled his mind. Desperately he cleared his throat and tried again to put into melody what he needed to say. He took another deep breath and began to sing in a soft yet vibrant baritone.

_"Your eyes, as we said our goodbyes_

_Can't get them out of my mind_

_And I find I can't hide_

_From your eyes_

_The ones that took me by surprise_

_The night you came into my life,_

_Where there's moonlight I see your eyes_

_How'd I let you slip away? When I'm longing so to hold you?_

_Now I'd die, for one more day_

_'Cause there's something I should have told you_

_There's something I should have told you_

_When I looked into your eyes_

_Why does distance make us wise?_

_You were the song all along_

_And before the song dies…_

_I should tell you, I should tell you_

_I have always loved you._

_You can see it in my eyes…"_

As the last notes of the song slipped past his guarded lips the restraint he'd carefully crafted broke with an almost audible _snap_. He collapsed and slid down the wall, chest heaving for breath, seized in the jaws of a terrible grief which refused to release him. Perversely he welcomed it, relishing the shocking rush of hurt that lanced through him anew.

"_Rose_!" he cried out, voice breaking with pain, fists pressed to the wall; one uncurling to claw desperately at the unbroken plaster. "_Oh, Rose…" _A painful shudder wracked his thin frame. Dimly, as if from an impossible distance, he heard her call out to him, for him, scream his title desperately….or was that just wishful thinking?

BR //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// BR

AN: Hope you enjoyed! Please read and review!

Cen


	2. Goodbye Love

AN//: Well here it is. "Your Eyes" from Rose's point of view. Thank you to everyone who reviewed "Your Eyes" and asked for this….Sorry it took so long to post! Hope you enjoy!

p.s. _Italics_ in quotation marks signify singing. For the sake of the story, please just pretend it was a sacred tradition on Gallifrey to express grief in a song…hope you enjoy! HWF

Disclaimer: I don't own the songs "Goodbye Love" or "Your Eyes" They were written by Jonathan Larson for his masterpiece, Rent. I also don't own Doctor Who… wish I did, but ah well….

BR //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// BR

"Goodbye Love"

Rose Tyler stood before her office window, gazing out blindly at the obscured horizon, as rivulets of rain dribbled sluggishly down the glass. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against the cool pane, shivering at the icy contact, and closed her eyes.

It had been three whole years since she'd lost Him…Her Doctor. For the first few months, that whole first year really, it had hurt too much to think about him. Work had sustained her, rapidly becoming her life. Yet, as time passed, she had learned to embrace the bittersweet pain of her memories, and now clung to them like a lifeline. Now, she often closed her eyes and stood just this way, picturing him as he'd been, imagined what trouble he was getting himself into now-without her.

_ Does he miss me? _She thought to herself sorrowfully, tracing a finger down the window, absently etching invisible geometric designs she remembered from a lifetime ago into the glass. _Does he miss me half as much as I miss him? _Forcing the thought away, she expelled a gust of air, watched it as it briefly fogged the window, before vanishing. Gone, in an instant, just like her time with The Doctor. She turned away from the window and walked over to her desk. It was one of the few things left in her small office. Once it had been crammed with a few chairs, a computer, paperwork, people…now it was barren. All that remained was her desk and the lone cardboard box; waiting to be shipped. The box was full of bric-a-brac: a pen, hand held scanner, stapler, a broken piece of unidentifiable alien tech; she used it as a paper weight, and…a picture. Rose tenderly reached into the box and lifted up the precious image.

Sorrowfully she gazed down at the picture she held in her shaking hand. It was a picture her Mum had taken of her and the Doctor on one of their visits, not long after their terrifying encounter with the Wire. They were sitting together side by side on the moth-eaten couch in the living room, laughing at something the Doctor had said. Smiles lit up their faces as they gazed at each other in shared wonder, fingers of one hand intertwined, two friends united. Even blinded by the mist of tears the sight of his smiling face brought an echoing wisp of a smile to her lips. She traced the outline of his face with a trembling fingertip. She spoke to him in a murmur, though she knew he couldn't hear. "_You don't want baggage without life time guarantee. You didn't want to watch me die…I just came to say goodbye love, goodbye love…goodbye_." The words burned in her throat but eased the pain in her heart.

With a regretful sigh she slipped the photo into her pocket (something's are too precious to let go of) and went about taping the cardboard box shut. _Wonder what he's doing now?_ She mused, as she shifted the box to the side of her desk to await shipping. In her minds eye she saw him, standing before her, brown eyes dancing, cheeky grin in place, his hand outstretched invitingly, waiting for her to grasp it-

A soft rapping on the partially open office door rudely shook her out of her daydream. She turned, intending to tell whoever it was to come back later, when she saw that it was Mickey. Her eyes widened, a deer caught in the headlights. _Damn_, she thought with a guilty wince, _so much for sneaking out._ She didn't say that, however, though she knew he could probably tell that's what she was thinking. "Uh, hi," she said. "Umm, come in," she said, gesturing to the space in front of her desk. "I was just…." Her voice trailed away and she looked away, hands blindly grasping the edges of the lone cardboard box.

Mickey walked in slowly, easing the door shut quietly behind him, then coming to stand in front of her desk, gazing about him sadly. Her office was practically empty.

"So it's true then?" Mickey asked quietly, not really needing the affirmation, but wanting it regardless. He'd only just heard the news a few minutes ago, and the fact that she hadn't seen fit to tell him hurt worse than if she'd slapped him. At her startled glance he grinned weakly. "Lisa, from Internal Affairs, told me."

"Mmmh," Rose said, "Yes, it's true. I'm leaving now for Torchwood 3- they've offered me a post."

"Oh…That's nice." He was quiet for a moment. "Were you even gonna say goodbye?" He blurted out. Her guilty silence was everything he'd feared. "My God, Rose, are you insane?" He exclaimed, hurt. "There's so much to care about, there's me, there's Jackie-"

"Mum's got Pete and Jamie," she said, referring to her little brother, a rambunctious little boy with a set of lungs to rival his Mum's.

"So do you!" Mickey exploded.

"You just don't know." Rose said, turning away.

"That's rich that is," Mickey growled; anger and hurt causing him to sound harsher than he intended. "If not me then who, Rose? Who are _you_ to tell me what I know?"

Rose froze, uncertain. "A friend…." She replied slowly, unsure.

"Some friend you've been lately! I hardly know who you are anymore!"

"I'm the same person I've been for awhile now, Mickey," she whispered.

"Who's that then? Not the Rose Tyler I remember. I mean, all of us, we hardly see you anymore! You're always here! You spend more time at Torchwood than at home!" She opened her mouth to deny it, but he plowed on. "Do you know what they say, Rose? What people say about you?" She shook her head. "'Rose has got her work,' they say 'Rose lives for her work' and 'Rose's in love with her work.' You hide in your work!"

"From what?" She snapped; a brief flash of fire flared to life inside her, only to be doused out with his next words.

"From facing your failure, facing your loneliness…Facing the fact that you live a lie! Yes you live a lie," he shouted over her protests, "Tell you why, you're always preaching not to be numb, when that's how you thrive. You pretend to defend and observe when you really detach from feeling alive!"

"Perhaps it's because I'm the one left behind," She said, snatching up her purse and throwing herself around her desk, desperate.

"Poor baby," he muttered as she shoved past him. "He wouldn't like this, you know," he whispered, eyes blinking rapidly against the tears. She froze in the doorway. "The Doctor," he continued, realizing he'd hit a nerve. "He wouldn't want you to be like this."

"No more," Rose begged, hunching her shoulders against his words, as the scars braiding her heart ripped open a bit wider. "I've gotta go. I'll call," she said hurriedly over her shoulder. She shoved open the door and ran down the corridor, nearly running into Pete.

"Rose, there you are, I've been looking for you-"

"Please don't touch me," she said, edging away when he reached out. "Understand, I need-"

"It's alright," he soothed, noting the stricken expression on her face. "I'll tell Jacks you had to catch the train, couldn't make it to dinner, yea?"

"Maybe, could you?" She said, even as she raced for the elevators. Pete nodded, though her back was already turned. He and Mickey watched her go, quietly grieving for the young woman she'd been, and the haunted soul she'd become.

Rose rushed into the first available elevator, thankful that it was unoccupied. Desperately she punched in the button for the top floor, before sagging back against the wall, breathing raggedly. Choking back a sob, she fumbled in her pocket, searching. She felt the edges of the photo in her pocket and greedily grasped it, stroking its smooth surface. She struggled to find her voice through the lump in her throat, as the numbers on the elevator screen whizzed by. _"Goodbye love, goodbye love. Came to say goodbye love, goodbye."_

The elevator rocked to a halt beneath her feet and the doors dinged open. She surged out into the eerie gloominess of the Ghostwatch room; long since abandoned. The sight of the wall on the opposite end of the room was a blow to the stomach. She stumbled towards it, running, throwing herself against its unrelenting surface. _"Just came to say, goodbye love, goodbye love…my love."_ She struggled against the choking sobs that gripped her, one hand splayed against the wall, blindly searching. _"Hello, loneliness…"_

Crying softly, she pressed her face against the wall, embracing the pain Mickey's words had reawakened like a bittersweet lover. For a long time she stood there, as memories bombarded her from all sides. After a time she grew silent, her breathing evened and, despite herself, the tears began to ebb. Finally, after what felt like hours, she straightened up slowly, preparing to go, when suddenly-

"This is a message for Rose Tyler," The Doctor's voice declared, resounding throughout the quiet room, as if he was there beside her. Rose froze, shock, disbelief, then hope rapidly surging through her one after the other. Eagerly she pressed herself against the wall once more, desperate to hear him again. Then, sure enough, it came again, like a breath of heaven to a damned soul. The Doctor's voice-was he singing?

"_I should tell you, I should tell you_," his voice broke and she heard him suck in a desperate breath. Her own lungs struggled to take in oxygen, hope's feathers beating rapidly against her ribcage. They drew breath in unison, and his soft yet vibrant baritone tenderly breathed life into her starving heart.

"_Your eyes, as we said our goodbyes_

_ Can't get them out of my mind_

_ And I find I can't hide_

_ From your eyes_

_ The ones that took me by surprise_

_ The night you came into my life,_

_ Where there's moonlight I see your eyes_

_ How'd I let you slip away? When I'm longing so to hold you?_

_ Now I'd die, for one more day_

_ 'Cause there's something I should have told you_

_ Yes there's something I should have told you_

_ When I looked into your eyes_

_ Why does distance make us wise?_

_ You were the song all along_

_ And before the song dies…_

_ I should tell you, I should tell you_

_ I have always loved you._

_ You can see it in my eyes…"_

Rose gasped, her heart breaking and coming to life in the same instant, as the words she'd longed to hear him say confirmed what she'd known for so long. He loved her. Even after all this time had passed, he still….her heart broke as she felt him break. "_Rose,"_ he cried out, voice breaking with pain. "_Oh Rose…"_

"Doctor," she whispered voice thick. Then again, louder: "Doctor. My Doctor." She buried her face against the cold texture of the wall, eyes fluttering closed with a gentle sigh. "My Doctor," she repeated, breathless, hoping beyond hope that somehow, some way, he'd heard her…

BR //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// BR

AN: Well, there you go. As you can see, I left the ending open, so if anyone wants a conclusion chapter, I _could _write one…but it all depends on what you have to say. Should I leave it as it is, or give them some closure? Up to you!

Please read and review,

HWF


	3. Without You

AN: Right here it is, finally, the third (and final) chapter. I'm not really all that pleased with it, to be honest. I'm only posting now because my friend, Kat, is being very impatient and won't stop harassing me via IM about it. For which I'm very flattered. Please read and let me know what you think!

Cen

* * *

As the last notes of the song slipped past his guarded lips the restraint he'd carefully crafted broke with an almost audible _snap._ He collapsed and slid down the wall, chest heaving for breath, seized in the jaws of a terrible grief which refused to release him. Perversely he welcomed it, relishing in the shocking rush of hurt that lanced through him anew.

"_Rose!"_ He cried out, voice breaking with pain, fists pressed to the wall; one uncurling to claw desperately at the unbroken plaster. "Oh Rose…" a painful shudder wracked his thin frame."Doctor, my Doctor." He thought he heard her whisper. The Doctor started and eagerly pressed himself back against the wall, listening intently-only to feel his hearts plummet in his chest once more. There was no one there. He'd merely imagined he'd heard her voice, dreamt he'd sensed her presence there with him. After all, he had no way of knowing if his message had gone through. Sure, he was fairly positive his calculations were accurate, but with the Rift there was always a wide margin of error to take into account. In all likelihood she hadn't heard. He could only hope.

Disgusted with himself, he forcefully shoved himself back, away from the wall, struggling to reign in his grief. Taking a deep breath, he buried his face in his hands, and futilely attempted to scrub away the signs of his tears from his stricken features. Exhaling slowly, he straightened up, shoving his fists into his trouser pockets, and gazed sadly at the wall for the last time.

"Goodbye Rose Tyler," he said softly, as he turned and began to walk away, back towards the TARDIS, his shoulders hunched forward protectively. Every step of his sneakered feet on the tiled floor ran hollowly in his ears, an echo of the empty beating of his hearts.

On the other side of the void, Rose heard his whispered farewell, followed by the retreating sound of his slowly retreating footsteps. He was leaving…

"Doctor," Rose gasped voice hoarse from crying. "No, please, don't go." The sound of his receding footsteps was her only response. It was no use, she realized, he couldn't hear her, she wasn't being loud enough. No, she thought fiercely, shaking her head, it wasn't going to end like this, with so much still unsaid. Not again. Rocking back on her heels, Rose stretched up onto her tiptoes and pressed her face back against the wall, warm lips hovering instinctively over the crack in the void, sensing where his lips had been. She had to make him hear her, had to make him come back…he had to…Taking a deep breath she choked back the rising swell of panic that threatened to overwhelm her, cleared her throat, and tried again.

"Doctor! Doctor!" She called out desperately. "No, please, don't go! Doctor, come back!" Please," she begged. "Please…come back…"

In the other world, The Doctor froze in his tracks, one hand braced against the door of the TARDIS. Her voice, lilting and haunted, called out to him from across the void. Stunned, he turned and listened. Mesmerized, his hearts beginning to pound, he crossed the dimly lit room, his long stride eating up the distance in seconds. A smile spread across his face (his wide 'oh isn't this just wonderful' grin), as he flung himself back against the wall. She'd done it. He had no idea how, but she'd done it! When she paused for breath, he cut in, desperate to share, to tell her…

"Rose," he gasped. "I'm here, Rose! Rose!"

"Doctor?" Eagerly Rose shifted her body towards the sound of his voice, hands searching blindly along the wall, much as she had on that terrible day. There, he felt him, just there. Her Doctor, so close and yet so far. Rose closed her eyes and began to cry, as she pressed herself closer, so that they stood cheek to cheek across the endless void. "You came back," she sighed softly, placing her palm against the wall where his own hand was.

The Doctor smiled sadly, hearts aching, fingers absently tracing the outline of her face. "Of course I did." They shared a smile. "_You heard,"_ he asked hesitantly.

_"Every word,"_ she whispered, recalling his song with a smile. Of one mind they slid down the wall to sit haphazardly at its base, one hand and cheek still pressed to the wall, so the connection between them remained unbroken. The Doctor shifted uneasily, struggling with what to say. A thousand words sprang to the tip of his tongue, but when he opened his mouth, none came out. He swallowed and tried again, but all he could manage was-

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Rose…"

"Don't be," she murmured. "It wasn't your fault. I should've-"

"It wasn't your fault either," he retorted, before she could finish her sentence. "It just…happened. There's nothing more we can do about it now." He added bitterly, feeling his hearts break a fraction more in the face of this knowledge.

"I know," she sighed. "I just wish-"

"Me too," he sighed. They were silent for a moment, each digesting what had been said, determinedly committing the precious sound of the other's voice in the vaults of their memory, to recall in the days after this moment ended.

"How long do we have?" Rose asked at last.

"Can't be sure," the Doctor said. "Frankly I'm amazed the gap has stayed open this long. It's really quite small…ten more minutes, at most. Not very long, I'm afraid." No, not nearly long enough, he thought.

Rose felt her heartbeat kick up a notch as he said this, but forced herself to remain calm. "Then we'll have to make the most of now," she said softly. The Doctor nodded, making a vague sound of agreement.

"Sooo…" he said, scrabbling for a direction of conversation. "Torchwood, eh?" He said rambling, leaning a shoulder heavily against the wall and kicking out his legs, stretching them out as far as he could. "What's that like then?"

"It's alright," she said, leaning forward, tucking her knees up under her chin, her shoulder length blonde hair swinging forward to curtain her face. Absently she tucked a lock behind one ear and gazed blankly at her surroundings. "It's a bit different than how I thought it'd be. A lot more paperwork than I expected." They both shared a grimace at that sentiment. "I've been promoted though," she explained, as if that made up for her previous statement. "They've put me in charge of the third division. I'm going to be heading my own team. In Cardiff," she added after a moment's pause.

"Good 'ol Cardiff," the Doctor laughed. "What about Jackie, is she okay with your moving and all?"

"She's not keen exactly, but she's proud of me. Said so long as I remember to call frequently, she won't insist on Pete driving the whole lot of them down to visit _that_ often."

"That's right, you said before-has she had the baby then?"  
"Yeah, she and Pete had a boy. They've named him Jamie. Cute little pest, he takes after Mum."

"Oh, your poor Father," the Doctor said, as the image of a miniature Jackie paraded across his mind. "I mean-tell them I said congratulations."

"I will," she laughed, shifting to mimic his position. "How about you? What have you been up to?"

"Oh, you know me, same old life. I've been trying to stay out of trouble actually."

"Seriously? You?" She scoffed. "I'd like to see that!"  
"Oi, don't laugh. It's not like I go looking for trouble. I prefer the quiet life."

"Right," she said, dragging out the word, disbelief plain. "And how's that been working out for ya then?"

"With…varying, degrees of success…it's just not the same without you." The last part slipped out before he even realized it. Drat, he thought, I didn't mean to say that. You'd think after 900 years…

Rose caught her breath in a gasp. "There hasn't been anyone else, then?" She asked softly. "Not since…well, since I lost you." The last part slipped out before he even realized it. _Drat,_ he thought, _I didn't mean to say that. You'd think after 900 years…_

Rose caught her breath in a gasp. "There hasn't been anyone else, then?" She asked softly. "Not since…well, since I lost you?"

"No," The Doctor said. "There's been no one. Well, almost, I did meet someone-a very loud someone. But it didn't work out." He shook his head. "And you? Have you met anyone?"

"No, no one special. There've been a few who, who tried…but none of them came close to you…" she paused, uncertain…but she had to know.

"Are we ever gonna see each other again? Before, you said it was impossible, but now this…will this chance, to at least talk, will this come again?"

"Oh, Rose, I don't think so." He replied, feeling her devastating disappointment as keenly as his own. "This was only possible because the Rift, in Cardiff, it's been active, disrupted the cracks all along the breach here- I should probably go check that out, at some point, actually. But this spot was already weak and so it reopened a tiny gap and…" he shook his head in an attempt to stop babbling. "It's unlikely. I'm sorry…"

"Ahh…" she sighed, biting her lip. Deep down inside she would continue to hope that there would be another chance, after this, but if it turned out he was right, this time, and this was their last chance…then she had to tell him how she felt. She knew he knew that she loved him. But it was so much more than that now. All around her life was moving on. Mickey was dating that girl from Internal Affairs. Her Mum and Pete had little Jamie- and wasn't he growing up so fast! Every day everyone around her was settling more and more into the rhythm of things, moving on and letting the past go- everyone except for her. She no longer felt connected to life and her surroundings. She watched it moving on but couldn't feel like a part of it. She'd felt like this since that day on the beach. It was as though, without him, something inside her, something vital, had died. And she need to tell him this, needed to somehow make him understand. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and turned her face, so she could whisper in his ear, and softly began to sing.

"_Without you, the ground thaws_

_The rain falls, the grass grows_

_Without you, the seed roots_

_The flowers bloom, the Children play_

_The stars gleam, the poets dream_

_The eagles fly…without you,"_

At first she sang quietly, in a gentle murmur, her voice lilting and uncertain. Slowly though her confidence grew, so that by the second verse her voice rang out clear and sure, full of honest emotion, and tinged with a wistful sorrow.

"_The Earth turns, the sun burns_

_But I die without you_

_Without you, the breeze warms_

_The girls smile, the cloud moves_

_Without you, the tides change_

_The boys run, the oceans crash_

_The crowds roar, the days soar_

_The babies cry, without you_

_The moon glows, the river flows_

_But I die without you…"_

Trapped on the other side, The Doctor sat quietly and listened, his own eyes brightening with a faint misting of tears. When she paused to catch her breath, he leaned close and joined in with a verse of his own, his voice rich and full of an equal longing.

_"The world revives, colors renew_

_But I know blue, only blue_

_Lonely blue, within me blue_

_Without you…"_

Rose smiled at the sound of his voice. He understands, she thought, awed. He feels the same… Voice trembling, she carried on.

"_Without you, the hand gropes_

_The ear hears, the pulse beats…"_

_"Without you," _The Doctor cut in smoothly.

_"The eyes gaze_

_The legs walk, the lungs breathe."_

Closing his eyes he could imagine she was right there with him. Together, their voices blending, they sang the final verse, at the same time declaring themselves and utterly relinquishing any hold they'd had to the illusion they'd been clinging to.

"_The mind churns, the heart yearns_

_The tears dry, without you_

_Life goes on, but I'm gone_

_'Cause I die without you_

_Without you…"_

The final notes of their song faded away into a shared silence. Though tears streamed down their faces neither of them spoke. Then they heard it, a faint cracking sound, like two puzzle pieces being snapped back into place. Immediately they both surged to their feet and pressed themselves against the wall.

"I won't ever forget you," Rose vowed with a sob. "Never forget me."

"I won't," the Doctor promised sadly. "Give Jackie, Pete, and Mickey my regards."

"I will," she whispered. "I'll tell Jamie all about you, yeah?" Her voice shook. "I love you."

"Rose, I…" his voice broke. "_I should tell you, I should tell you…"_

"_Shh, I know,"_ she assured him. "Quite right too." They laughed, a gasping sound on the brink of hysteria.

"_Goodbye love!"_ she called out desperately as the gap finished sealing itself. Faintly she thought she heard him reverently breath her name…then there was nothing but silence.

For a long moment they stood pressed against the wall on their separate sides, the world of faded gray rotating sharply around them. Reluctantly they took stock, struggling to fully grasp what had just happened. Rose wiped at her eyes, where fresh tears burned, but she sensed that they were now lit with that determined fire she thought had been permanently extinguished. The Doctor pressed a hand to his chest- his hearts still beat brokenly, but the ache surrounding them was more of a persistant throb, like that of a scar or healed broken bone, rather than with the consuming intensity of before.

He sighed wearily. He loved Rose Tyler, always had, always would. And now she knew. Smiling sadly at the wall, The Doctor shoved his hands back into his pockets. "Goodbye, Rose Tyler." He sighed. "_I have always loved you…._" Turning, he walked away, his head held high, mind already buzzing. Before landing the TARDIS scanners had detected strange energy levels surrounding a hospital in London. That was certainly worth taking a look at.

Rose waited until she sensed he'd gone before stepping away from the wall. "_Goodbye love, goodbye."_ Sighing, she straightened her shoulders and slowly walked away, fingering her cell phone in her pocket. She would catch the first train to Cardiff in the morning, she owed her Mum a proper goodbye. The Team would just have to accept that. In the doorway she paused and glanced back one last time. Even if it was a futile dream, she would continue to hope for another chance. But until then, she had work to do. Humming under her breath she walked out of the room and on with the rest of her life, the sound of the TARDIS dematerializing ringing in her ears.

* * *


End file.
